Charlotte Mason’s Living Educational Philosophy Transforms Learning

The British educator's Home Education Series, first published in 1886, revolutionized education by focusing on the home, relationships, and engagement

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Charlotte Maria Mason was born in 1842 in the village of Garth (now Bangor) in northern Wales. She was homeschooled from a young age and spent her days exploring nature and falling in love with learning.

When she was orphaned at 16, she traveled to London to live with friends. There, she attended the Home and Colonial School Society, a teacher training school, where she flourished.

Eventually, Mason became one of the most influential British educators in the UK. Her Home Education Series, the first volume of which was published in 1886, revolutionized education and remains a homeschooling classic to this day.

Mason’s philosophy, referred to as “the gentle art of learning” in Karen Andreola’s 1998 book, “A Charlotte Mason Companion,” ever so subtly sparks children’s curiosity and imagination. Mason encourages them to explore fascinating topics and to fall in love with learning—just like young Charlotte did.

Here is a closer look at some of the core principles of a Charlotte Mason education.

An Enriching Home Atmosphere

Mason said that “a child draws inspiration from the casual life around him.” She believed that the home atmosphere represented one-third of a child’s education. An ideal home environment is one in which healthy communication is the norm and all family members respect one another. Children are free to express themselves without fear of judgment, knowing that they can discuss anything with their parents.

Mason, a true pioneer in her day, also believed in a living education—nourishing children with ideas. “It is the very nature of an idea to grow,“ Mason wrote. ”Fairly implant an idea in the child’s mind, and it will secrete its own food, grow, and bear fruit in the form of a succession of kindred ideas.”

Introduce your children to a multitude of ideas every day by creating an enriching home environment filled with great music and literature, an appreciation of art, the study of nature, biographies of great men and women, plays, fascinating narratives from history, and scientific discoveries. Your children will form meaningful connections with the ideas that appeal to them, prompting new thoughts and ideas to develop. The new ideas will connect with other ideas already present in their minds; then, these grow and spark more ideas, and so on.

Ideas become interests, and interests nurture delight-directed learning. Children who learn in this way are motivated to delve deeper and deeper and, as a result, excel at self-education.

Relationships

According to Mason, relationships are the building blocks of a quality education. She encouraged parents to provide children with myriad opportunities to interact and develop relationships with many different kinds of people, places, and things in the world around them.

She suggests setting the stage by ensuring that your children have these three essential opportunities every day: something or someone to love, something to do, and something to think about.

A loving family naturally provides a child with many opportunities to love. A child’s love for a special pet—a favorite chicken, cat, or even larger livestock—can supplement this need beautifully.

Something to do comes with one condition: Your child’s “something” should have value and be meaningful. For example, your child can help plan, cook, and serve dinner, put together and deliver a care package to an elderly neighbor, help a younger sibling with schoolwork, or work on a craft project. You can help your kids grow into caring adults by encouraging them to serve others lovingly and humbly.

And, lastly, something to think about can be found in a newspaper article, great literature, or what Mason referred to as living books—books written by an author who is passionate about the subject matter and stimulates an emotional connection with his or her readers. Or, perhaps your family is considering adopting a dog; undoubtedly everyone will have plenty to think about.

An Adaptable Engaging School Day

Mason’s innovative methods center on adapting the school day to meet the unique developmental and academic needs of children while simultaneously engaging in meaningful activities and sparking their curiosity about the world around them. A typical school day is characterized by short lessons, living books, narration, no homework, and free afternoons.

She found that shorter lessons of approximately 15 to 20 minutes for young students, 20 to 30 minutes for middle-grade students, and 30 to 45 minutes for older students kept them engaged for the entire lesson without their attention waning.

And living books lay the foundation for perfecting the art of narration—which is, simply, the act of retelling. A child should retell, in his or her own words, what he or she has just listened to or read. Mason believed that this is the way that children learn best; it also provides the optimal way to assess a child’s comprehension. Narration is a powerful tool for strengthening thinking skills as children work to remember facts, organize their thoughts, and put them into words. And, when used consistently, there is no need for homework because, as Mason observed, children retained more information that lasted for longer periods of time.

Free afternoons are for leisure pursuits such as practicing musical instruments, working on crafts and projects, climbing trees, exploring nature, serving a needy family, or visiting friends.